Argul
also known as The Deposed King, is a character featured in Darksiders II. He is the target of the side quest Find and Kill the Deposed King, given by Thane in Tri-Stone. Background Argul was the ruler of the Kingdom of the Dead for eons, hoarding power in his tomb. Such power included Frostbane, a Soul of the Abyss incarnated in the form of a dragon via Argul's will and existing for no other purpose than to serve him. Argul was considered mad, constantly speaking of the Four Horsemen as a coming Darkness that would spread throughout creation. His enemies referred to him as a "Mad beast in need of killing". Argul's rule came to a end with the betrayal of the Lord of Bones, his former second in command. It was believed that the new Dead King killed Argul but he instead entombed him below the Dead Plains and cast his original tomb out of the realm so that he could not draw power from it, no one knows that if this was an act of mercy or cruelty. Darksiders II While most believed Argul destroyed, Thane suspected otherwise. He asked Death to finish what the Dead King started and put Argul down like the mad dog that he was. Should Death succeed in hunting down and destroying Argul then he is rewarded with Argul's weapon, the Scepter of the Deposed King. Ostegoth at one point offered Death a great reward for journeying to Argul's tomb and destroying the source of his power, Frostbane. Powers and Abilities Argul is a powerful warrior, wielding a large legendary mace and a massive icy shield. Argul can freeze his victims instantly with just a touch and will take advantage of this by attempting to smash them. Strategy After the cutscene of Argul breaking free, he always does a massive overhead swing which sticks his hammer into the ground and it will take him several seconds to wrench it out. Be wary of this attack--it will freeze you and do continuing damage even after you break free. If you have the Teleport Slash, use it as soon as you come out of cutscene and you see Argul set his feet. Assuming you manage to dodge that first hit, Argul has several different moves. *Argul will do two overhead hammer swings. He'll try to turn to follow you as he swings. Put some distance between you when he does this. *If you attack him for too long, or stand in front of him, he'll set his shield into the ground and then try to shield-rush you. As soon as you see him jam his shield into the ground, dodge sideways to him, because he's going to rush straight ahead. *He will do that massive overhead swing. He'll often lunge it, so that he'll travel forward a ways. It can freeze you--even in Reaper form (and pull you out of Reaper form when he does)--and does horrendous damage as well as a high damage-over-time effect. The major saving grace is that he telegraphs the swing--he stands up straight, sets his feet, and holds his hammer up. The only really safe place to be is behind him. When he tries this one, use Teleport Slash to get behind him and then attack him for all you're worth. You should be able to get in two full attack sequences on him. *When he's down to about half-health, he'll begin to use a tornado spin; he'll raise his hammer up and look upwards and then start spinning. This is fast and hard to dodge, but it can be done. Stay focused on him, let him start moving for you, then start dodging sideways to him. He will only do travel for so far and he can't turn past a certain point. If at all possible, try to keep him on the ends of his arena so that he's eaten most of his range getting to you. As soon as he starts the setup for this attack, do a few dodges in the opposite direction to get a bit of extra distance between you. Argul has a pattern he follows. It pretty much always runs: Massive hammer strike, shield rush, double hammer strike, and then another massive hammer strike. When his health is low enough, he begins to use his tornado spin attack before he does the massive hammer strike. The only attack that can truly give trouble is the tornado attack, but always, always fight him cautiously. He isn't the fastest enemy in the game, but he moves faster than you think, and he has a lot of reach. Also, as a general rule, he only uses an attack if you're within range. If you try to keep away, he'll slowly walk towards you until you're in reach. If possible, set your equipment for wrath regeneration, and use the Redemption pistol to build your wrath while he's walking towards you. Another excellent strategy against this formidable foe is to rely on a pair of armblades. If you have a pair of (possibly possessed) armblades with a decent critical hit chance and/or damage modifier, you can combine this with the weapon's ranged charge attack to inflict massive amounts of damage, without having to expose yourself to his devastating attacks too often. When employing this method it is important to keep your distance at all times. Follow the instructions above to dodge his attacks and get away from him when he gets too close. Argul has a lot of health and he does a lot of damage, so patience is the greatest weapon for fighting him. Find a pattern or a counter for all his attacks that works for you, and keep at them. A good strategy is to stick to your right (his left). This keeps you out of reach of his freezing hammer swing and an excellent chance to dodge his two hammer attack. When he's down to the very last bit of his health, don't get greedy for the kill and try to rush him. He can still end you in only a few hits, so stay patient and stick to your pattern. Trivia * There is a place called "Argul's Tomb" which apparently has a connection with him. It is also the name of the game's first DLC. * Unlike most other bosses, he does not have a prompt to press a button to be executed. Category:Darksiders 2 Characters Category:Side Boss